The Engagement Ring

I am so glad I accidentally found this on TV as I was dozing off for a nap on Saturday. It kept me awake and completely charmed me. Not only were the actors very good, the settings were gorgeous (how could they NOT BE in Napa Valley?) and the music was a perfect match. I want to watch this movie again, seriously. Because of her character on Raymond, I've never been a Heaton fan, but she won me over in this movie! I base my opinion for many films on whether or not they made a rainy or cold Saturday or Sunday BETTER. This one DID IT! We could not remember the name of the actor who played the uncle, but we knew him, so when the credits actually named the actors at the end, this movie received a few more PLUSES from us! I recommend heartily!

If you've loved at all in your life, you'll enjoy this film. Actually, you'll enjoy it anyway, but you'll understand every nuance if you've been in love. This movie dances with every emotion and dynamic one experiences in a relationship of any substance; love, hatred, anger, betrayal, hurt, humor, power struggles, pride, fear. It's all wrapped up tightly in this movie and presented in a tender, subtle, yet gripping way that engages the viewer and gently holds your attention until the end. The acting is great, the emotions are real, and the presentation is lively, interesting, and even informative. I can't remember when I've seen a better balanced film; each role is important in piecing the message together and everyone involved does a great job. Very enjoyable. I challenge anyone to view this film without laughing and shedding a tear.

...this would be one of them. Sunny, cheesy and thoroughly enjoyable love-among-the-grapes farce surrounding two generations of volatile Italians in the Napa Valley. A bit schmaltzy, as you might expect, but not too much; and the script is excellent, with plenty of twists and some nice one-liners. Great performances from all 6 main stars (two triangles from different generations), particularly Lainie Kazan and Tony Lo Bianco as childhood sweethearts who never quite got together and have blamed each other ever since.

I had to put in my two-penn'orth on this one, because I've acted on stage a few times with the lady who played Nana, and it was great to see her in such a good movie.

How many times have you heard someone say that they don't watch television very much, usually only some of the programs on PBS? If this were true, "Nova" would be the most popular program of all-time, and Jerry Seinfeld and Ray Romano would be making probably a good living doing stand-up, instead of amassing large nine-figure net worths from their television shows. So it is with movies. We all tend to trumpet our devotion to classics like the above - and are often reluctant to admit watching (let alone liking) more seemingly-pedestrian fare like this modest film of Ms. Heaton's. As Debra on "Everybody Loves Raymond" she was always thoroughly-believable, very engaging, displayed the character's both sweet and tart sides to perfection - as well as being as pleasant to look-at as, say, Tia Carrere in "True Lies," or Sharon Stone (in ANYTHING with Sharon Stone). This movie is charming, more interesting than many trumpeted "blockbusters," and Patricia Eaton (and her fellow cast members) are likable - and she is as "pleasant to look-at" as ever.

Enjoyed viewing this picture from beginning to end and how two families growing grapes in Napa Valley could have such a strong love and hate relationship. The entire cast of actors gave outstanding performances and I thought that Patricia Heaton,(Sara Rosa) showed her real talents and even rode a horse around the vineyards. This engagement ring was given with great love and in a way, caused a great deal of hatred for many many years among these two families. There is lots of humor, drama and cute romance with husband and wife and some live together couples, getting to know each other. I really think this story of these two famines should be made into a TV series, or at least make up a TV program using most of these fantastic actors.